BLE - ScannerLocation - Command:Unknown

[Jeeves]

I was interested in setting up BLE scanning with a spare ESP32 I had laying around.

Walking through the setup, we are told to enter the command (or similar depending X,X):
"ScannerLocation 1,10,20"

This command doesn't seem to do anything:

20:09:30 HTP: Console
20:09:33 CMD: ScannerLocation 1,10,20
20:09:33 RSL: Group 0, Index 1, Command SCANNERLOCATION, Data 1,10,20
20:09:33 MQT: BLE-Scan/1/stat/RESULT = {"Command":"Unknown"}

Furthermore, I've got the ESP32 configured as documented (AFAIK), but I do not see anything scan related. I appear to be using the same binaries as in Figure 43 of the guide;

00:00:00 CFG: Loaded from flash at 0, Count 39
00:00:00 APP: Boot Count 27
00:00:00 APP: Set Baudrate to 115200
00:00:00 Project sonoff esp32_BLEScan-1 (Topic BLE-Scan, Fallback BLEScan_1-ESP32, GroupTopic BLE-Scanners) Version 5.12.0c-STAGED
00:00:00 CFG: Saved to flash at FFFFFFFF, Count 40, Bytes 1680
00:00:00 WIF: Attempting connection...
00:00:00 WIF: Connecting to AP1 IOTGroup in mode 11
00:00:01 WIF: Connected
00:00:01 DNS: Initialized
00:00:01 HTP: Web server active on BLE-Scan-2700.local with IP address 192.168.1.81
00:00:01 APP: (UTC) Sun Aug 9 15:17:41 2020, (DST) Sun Aug 9 15:17:41 2020, (STD) Sun Aug 9 15:17:41 2020
20:17:43 HTP: Main Menu
20:17:43 MQT: Attempting connection...
20:17:43 MQT: Connected
20:17:43 MQT: BLE-Scan/1/tele/LWT = Online (retained)
20:17:43 MQT: BLE-Scan/1/cmnd/POWER =
20:17:43 MQT: Subscribe to BLE-Scan/1/cmnd/#
20:17:43 MQT: Subscribe to sonoffs/1/cmnd/#
20:17:43 MQT: Subscribe to cmnd/BLEScan_1-ESP32/#
20:17:43 MQT: BLE-Scan/1/tele/INFO1 = {"Module":"WEMOS","Version":"5.12.0c","FallbackTopic":"BLEScan1","GroupTopic":"BLE-Scanners"}
20:17:43 MQT: BLE-Scan/1/tele/INFO2 = {"WebServerMode":"Admin","Hostname":"BLE-Scan-2700","IPAddress":"192.168.1.81"}
20:17:43 MQT: BLE-Scan/1/tele/INFO3 = {"RestartReason":"12"}
20:17:45 HTP: Console
20:17:52 MQT: BLE-Scan/1/tele/STATE = {"Time":"2020-08-09T20:17:52","Uptime":"0T00:00:12","Wifi":{"AP":1,"SSId":"IOTGroup","RSSI":100,"APMac":"22:3C:E8:81:4C:85"}})

By way of comparison, I am not seeing the /CONFIG echo.

Thanks!

[Michael McSharry]

It has been awhile since this project was active. Through neglect my ESP32 have found other homes, but I did reflash one. It reported on Topic BLEScan/0/xxxx.

I used Termite terminal program and entered the command ScannerLocation 1,10,20. The ESP32 restarted and the Topic it reported is now BLEScan/1/xxxx. This means it accepted the ScannerLocation command that identified this as Scanner #1 and location of (10,20). I also saw the BLEScan/1/CONFIG topic reported as well.

I see you have BLE-Scan/1 and you have a prefix /tele inserted. How did you change the topic from BLEScan to BLEScan? Likewise the template with %prefix also looks to be different than what I had been using.

[Jeeves]

It has been awhile since this project was active. Through neglect my ESP32 have found other homes, but I did reflash one. It reported on Topic BLEScan/0/xxxx.

I used Termite terminal program and entered the command ScannerLocation 1,10,20. The ESP32 restarted and the Topic it reported is now BLEScan/1/xxxx. This means it accepted the ScannerLocation command that identified this as Scanner #1 and location of (10,20). I also saw the BLEScan/1/CONFIG topic reported as well.

I see you have BLE-Scan/1 and you have a prefix /tele inserted. How did you change the topic from BLEScan to BLEScan? Likewise the template with %prefix also looks to be different than what I had been using.

After flashing the Tasmota firmware and assigning an SSID/PW, all of those options are configurable via the web interface. I simply configured the MQTT to more fit my preferences.

Searching the Tasmota documentation, I see nothing about a "scannerlocation" command.

From those docs;

Tasmota uses 3 prefixes for forming a FullTopic:

• cmnd - prefix to issue commands; ask for status
• stat - reports back status or configuration message
• tele - reports telemetry info at specified intervals

If I needed to match your configuration or use a particular image, I understand, however I'm still not seeing any scanning data from the ESP32 itself.

[Jeeves]

Also, real quick, when searching the only hits I see for "ScannerLocation" are the mcsMQTT Documentation.

[Michael McSharry]

Version 5 of Tasmota was the basis for the source code. I ported it to ESP32 and added the logic for the BLE application and did it in a manner that allowed similar user interaction as was provided by ESP8266 Tasmota. It is not a project that is supported by Theo. Only documentation you will find is in the mcsMQTT manual.

While changing the topic is possible, it may have interfered with the assumptions made or introduced logic paths that had not been evaluated. I did this quite awhile ago and things fade from memory as time passes. I suggest starting again and following only the instruction in mcsMQTT manual. After desired operation has been achieved then you can try to customize and see if it breaks or not.

[Jeeves]

I ported it to ESP32 and added the logic for the BLE application and did it in a manner that allowed similar user interaction as was provided by ESP8266 Tasmota.

Reading through the documentation, it seems like I may have flash Tasmota but not your custom firmware. However, I do not see a link to it anywhere. I checked in the latest ZIP and I found the link to 'http://mcssprinklers.com/mcsTasmota.zip' but neither seems to have BLE firmware. Can you point me towards it?

[Michael McSharry]

I thought I had it documented in the manual, but in any case I recompiled and uploaded to make certain you are using the same thing that I just evaluated. It is at http://mcsSprinklers.com/ESP32BLEScanner.zip

[Jeeves]

I thought I had it documented in the manual, but in any case I recompiled and uploaded to make certain you are using the same thing that I just evaluated. It is at http://mcsSprinklers.com/ESP32BLEScanner.zip

Much appreciated. This should fix my issues. I searched the manual and did not see the link in the version I've got.
Thanks!

[Jeeves]

I thought I had it documented in the manual, but in any case I recompiled and uploaded to make certain you are using the same thing that I just evaluated. It is at http://mcsSprinklers.com/ESP32BLEScanner.zip

Do I need the partition table bin from you as well? After flashing the sonoff bootloader and partition table with your firmware I only get the following as feedback;

rst:0x1 (POWERON_RESET),boot:0x13 (SPI_FAST_FLASH_BOOT)
configsip: 0, SPIWP:0xee
clk_drv:0x00,q_drv:0x00,d_drv:0x00,cs0_drv:0x00,hd_drv:0x00, wp_drv:0x00
modeIO, clock div:2
load:0x3fff0018,len:4
load:0x3fff001c,len:812
load:0x40078000,len:0
load:0x40078000,len:11404
entry 0x40078a28
user code done

[Michael McSharry]

You only need it if you are going to build from source. The source is available if you want it.

I was not aware Sonoff had a product with ESP32. I have been using ESP32/LoRa development modules, but any ESP32 with BLE should work.

This same project was implemented on RPi. You can mix ESP32 and RPi. The RPi actually works better because it does not need to share single antenna between BLE and WIFI

[Jeeves]

I have both RPi's and ESP-32's available. I went with what was in the documentation.

You only need it if you are going to build from source. The source is available if you want it.

I was not aware Sonoff had a product with ESP32. I have been using ESP32/LoRa development modules, but any ESP32 with BLE should work.

This same project was implemented on RPi. You can mix ESP32 and RPi. The RPi actually works better because it does not need to share single antenna between BLE and WIFI

To be clear; When I originally flashed the three files that were required under "11.2 Getting Started with BLE" the ESP32 booted and ran as expected (screenshots in my first post). However, this first flash was with the wrong firmware (out of the box Tasmota).

When flashing with the provided "ESP32BLEScanner.bin" the ESP32 does not boot to user code. The file ESP32BLEScanner.bin is nearly twice the size of "sonoffo.ino.bin" found here.

Here's my flashing configuration.
And here's the feedback from Termite.

I went and re-checked the download of "Flash Download Tools (ESP8266 & ESP32 & ESP32-S2)" there are no .bin files in that path.

If BLE works, as per the documentation, I'd like to make use of it. But between missing files and steps I'm having a heck of a time duplicating your work. Thanks!

[Michael McSharry]

The original discussion on this topic is at https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/li...oth-low-energy. Look at post #12 in particular. It contains the link to the files including the partition table. I read the manual that you referenced and see that it is needed if you do not use Platform IO for the download. Like I wrote before, memory fades over time. I would continue to use the .bin file that I uploaded yesterday to assure you have the version that I have.

[Jeeves]

The original discussion on this topic is at https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/li...oth-low-energy. Look at post #12 in particular. It contains the link to the files including the partition table. I read the manual that you referenced and see that it is needed if you do not use Platform IO for the download. Like I wrote before, memory fades over time. I would continue to use the .bin file that I uploaded yesterday to assure you have the version that I have.

I'd love to say I've had success, but I have not. Even using the three files from the file "ESP32_BLE_BinaryAndLoader.zip" the ESP32 boots the bootloader and stops, claiming no user code:

[COLOR=#16a085]rst:0x1 (POWERON_RESET),boot:0x13 (SPI_FAST_FLASH_BOOT)
configsip: 0, SPIWP:0x00
clk_drv:0x00,q_drv:0x00,d_drv:0x00,cs0_drv:0x00,hd_drv:0x00, wp_drv:0x00
mode:DIO, clock div:2
load:0x3ffc0000,len:0
load:0x3ffc0000,len:2876
load:0x40078000,len:4200
load:0x40098000,len:740
entry 0x4009816c[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#8e44ad][1B][0;32mI (26) boot: Espressif ESP32 2nd stage bootloader v. V0.1[1B][0m
[1B][0;32mI (35) boot: compile time 15:00:13[1B][0m
D (41) boot: mmu set paddr=00000000 count=1[1B][0m
D (48) boot: magic e9[1B][0m
D (51) boot: blocks 04[1B][0m
D (55) boot: spi_mode 02[1B][0m
D (59) boot: spi_speed 00[1B][0m
D (63) boot: spi_size 02[1B][0m
[1B][0;32mI (67) boot: SPI Speed : 40MHz[1B][0m
[1B][0;32mI (73) boot: SPI Mode : DIO[1B][0m
[1B][0;32mI (79) boot: SPI Flash Size : 4MB[1B][0m
[1B][0;32mI (86) boot: Partition Table:[1B][0m
[1B][0;32mI (91) boot: ## Label Usage Type ST Offset Length[1B][0m
D (102) boot: load partition table entry from 4000(3f404000)[1B][0m
D (111) boot: type=ff subtype=ff[1B][0m[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#c0392b][B][1B][0;32mI (116) boot: End of partition table[1B][0m[/B][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#c0392b][B][1B][0;31mE (122) boot: nothing to load[1B][0m[/B]
[B]user code done[/B][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#8e44ad]ets Jun 8 2016 00:22:57[/COLOR]

I have used the ESP32 download tool to erase and re-flash, and I always get the same.

I can however, flash the base TasmotaI linked earlier, and it boots to user code:

[COLOR=#16a085]rst:0x1 (POWERON_RESET),boot:0x13 (SPI_FAST_FLASH_BOOT)
configsip: 0, SPIWP:0xee
clk_drv:0x00,q_drv:0x00,d_drv:0x00,cs0_drv:0x00,hd_drv:0x00, wp_drv:0x00
mode:DIO, clock div:2
load:0x3fff0018,len:4
load:0x3fff001c,len:812
load:0x40078000,len:0
load:0x40078000,len:11404
entry 0x40078a28[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#2980b9]00:00:00 CFG: Use defaults
00:00:00 APP: Set Baudrate to 115200

00:00:00 Project sonoff Sonoff (Topic sonoff, Fallback DVES_00000000, GroupTopic sonoffs) Version 5.12.0c-STAGED
00:00:00 WIF: Connecting to AP1 in mode 11[/COLOR]

I am using Firmware @ 0x10000, Bootloader @ 0x1000, Partition Table @ 0x8000.

If you have any advice, I'd appreciate it. Thanks as always!

[Michael McSharry]

I tried to repeat your experience and can confirm I was not able to load via ESP32Downloader. I need to relearn binary download. PlatformIO handles it internally based upon the ESP32_no_SPIFF.csv that is in the project source. Uploading from PlatformIO via source compile does work.

[Jeeves]

I tried to repeat your experience and can confirm I was not able to load via ESP32Downloader. I need to relearn binary download. PlatformIO handles it internally based upon the ESP32_no_SPIFF.csv that is in the project source. Uploading from PlatformIO via source compile does work.

I'll take a look at PlatformIO, but it's not something I'm familiar with.

If you narrow down a fix, I'd love to know Thanks for taking the time to test it.